Getting out of tricky situations isn't easy. But along the way, I get to hang out with princesses (they never wear their crowns), camel jockeys (literally!) and famous (well at least quasi-famous) people...all for the love of media.

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Thursday, April 30, 2015

Godzilla and His Loose Connection to Azerbaijan: Me

Okay, so where am I?

There's no truth that I was able to secure a plum seat ringside for the Mayweather v. Pacquiao at the MGM this weekend in Las Vegas...yeah, uh, $4,000 for a ticket just to get in is a bit too much.

And, I may or may not be in Azerbaijan looking at a way to make them famous to accompany their riches and somehow wipe away a few of their abuses aimed as journalists and (gulp) media people.

However, what I can tell you is that I saw Godzilla's head being unveiled in grand style as he was appointed special resident and tourism ambassador for Tokyo's Shinjuku ward. His giant, steaming skull towered 171 feet above ground level at the Toho offices, the studio behind the original 1954 film...only in Japan!

NOTES ON THE SCORECARD:
So while I waited for my meeting to meet with execs about my Media Guy Struggles television pilot and selling it into the Asian market (yes, a Media Guy can still dream...), I cobbled together my top five recent crumbs/stories about media, traveling and advertising.

4. WHERE IS CAN YOU GET A TOBLERONE?The Rise And Fall Of The Hotel Mini-Bar
It’s 2 AM. You’ve just returned to your hotel room after a night carousing on the town. The corner stores have long-since closed, and you’ve been left tipsy, alone, and in need of an after-hours morsel. And then, like some culinary apparition, it beckons you from the corner of the room: the hotel mini-bar.

3. 500 Years Of NYC SkylineIn One Time-Lapse Elevator Ride
The elevators to the observatory atop 1 World Trade Center show an animated time lapse that recreates the development of New York City’s skyline, from the 1500s to today.

2. BEFORE THE BUZZ WAS FEDThe Time A Newspaper Stared Down The Country's Largest AdvertiserA little-remembered incident helped establish the notion that news organizations could and should preserve their independence from advertisers.

1. Ad of the Week/Month/WhateverGerman Old Spice
Just when you think the Old Spice commercials featuring Expendables star Terry Crews couldn't get any more strange or intense, you read a story in the trades the the spots are being dubbed in German! Talk about intensity. All of that sounds great on paper, until he opens his mouth. It’s almost as if they they didn’t even try to find a voice that sounds like him. Let's go to the video:

Bonus Story...

....and I think it should be noted that I am VERY funny... A new study in Psychology Today says guys who make you laugh are better in bed than guys who don't, Chicago Tribune reports.